Let’s delete the cleat

I’m usually a big proponent of technology, of adopting new equipment and ideas to make golf better. However, we need to reconsider one of the most significant changes of the past few decades in light of evidence that is most obvious to us, green superintendents.

I’m usually a big proponent of technology, of adopting new equipment and ideas to make golf better. However, we need to reconsider one of the most significant changes of the past few decades in light of evidence that is most obvious to us, green superintendents.

It may be time to take a hard line against soft spikes.

About 20 years ago, there was a major revolution in golf. The 6- to 8-mm metal spike was replaced by the plastic “soft spike” following an uproar about the damage that metal spikes were doing to turfgrass, particularly putting greens.

Fast forward to today and take a look at the bottom of golf shoes. Actually, if you’re a superintendent, you don’t have to examine the shoes themselves: Walk on any green and you’ll easily see how spike technology has changed. These “soft” spikes are getting longer, sharper, wider and more aggressive, so as a result, they are inflicting more and more damage on our courses.

The same week that the golf industry was convening – and showing off a host of new shoe styles – at the PGA Show in Florida, I conducted a random survey of superintendents, asking them how plastic spikes have affected them. While the shoe manufacturers were introducing soles with more spikes and other “points of contact” (POCs) designed to give golfers better traction and stability, I received these comments from some of our brethren.

“It is no secret that golf has been on the decline for the last 5-plus years, yet the demand for conditioning, with fast and firm greens, has increased,” wrote one superintendent. “Why do shoe manufactures continue to produce shoes that do everything to frustrate other golfers and those that are employed to provide the conditions? The firmest, driest greens do not withstand a foursome of golfers wearing these types of spikes. The scuffing, unintentional scuffing, and twisting of turf, especially around the cup, ruins the putting surface for every golfer that follows.”

“Some of the newer spikes are so aggressive – long, tall, robust – we are seeing scuff marks and scars on the greens,” someone told me. “Rather than pressing into the turf, these new spikes seem to grab and hold onto the turf, causing more shearing and tearing of low-cut grass. When feet twist and turn, it’s almost as if the spikes are ‘reverse ball repair tools.’”

You can quickly see the main themes in these comments, which were repeated in the many others I received: the new spikes are doing more damage at a time when golf is already in trouble, and that damage is at least as bad as what metal spikes used to do.

Shoes used to have eight or nine metal spikes. Now shoes have six to 12 “spikes” each with five or so prongs, plus dozens, sometimes hundreds more points of contact of various sizes, depths, and sharpness. Adidas has a new shoe with 18 spikes, each of those spikes has five POCs, so that’s 180 impressions from each golfer with every step.

This extra damage increases maintenance costs – chemicals, topdressing sand and additional staff to maintain turf quality. Depending on the region and the weather, the damage can be exaggerated when it’s wet (in the Northwest), hot (stressed turf in the Northeast and central states), and on dormant grass (Southeast, Florida). Early and late in the season, growth can be severely compromised by damage to the plant.

What can we do? The GCSAA needs to push the USGA and PGA of America, as well as the manufacturers, to evaluate the damage incurred by these “soft” spikes.

In the meantime, some suggestions for the individual superintendent:

Watch your hole locations and course set up, especially when play volume is up, weather is bad or turf is not growing

Avoid placing the hole in low spots when the green is wet

Choose the correct cultivar for your region

Monitor water volumes other than rain

Grow the healthiest turfgrass you can

Bring up this issue with the management at your club/course.

When soft spikes became the norm, courses were quick to tell golfers that they couldn’t wear metal spikes. We need a new educational initiative – backed by shoe manufacturers and all the organizations responsible for growing, protecting and enhancing the game. The “soft” spike is making it “hard” for all of us to enjoy the game.

Propane presence set for GIS

The Propane Education & Research Council is inviting club owners and managers attending the Golf Industry Show in San Antonio to learn how nearly every major application at work on their properties can be powered with clean, American-made propane.

“Show attendees may be surprised to learn about the different ways propane can be utilized throughout a golf course and club,” said Jeremy Wishart, deputy director of business development for PERC. “The more applications powered with propane, the better it is for cutting costs, improving energy efficiency, and, most importantly, creating that unforgettable customer experience every club is looking to provide.”

Located in booth #13019, PERC officials will be on hand to discuss how propane-powered applications can deliver major financial and operational advantages for the golf industry.

“Propane is a versatile fuel that can power nearly every major application of a golf club’s operations,” Wishart said. “It delivers exceptional performance for everything from indoor appliances to mowers, maintenance vehicles, backup generators, and more, so a club’s facilities can enjoy an overall level of reliability, comfort and savings that other fuels simply can’t match.”

Propane can also power much of a course’s grounds maintenance needs, including its mower fleet, turf equipment and propane-autogas-powered trucks. A club can also invest in a propane-powered standby generator to keep the facility operational even when an unexpected power outage occurs.

Social in San Antonio

In the four years we’ve been doing our Super Social Media Awards, we’ve never had harder choices to make. So much has changed in the past 1000+ days with the number of supers engaged and the quality of what’s being done.

In the four years we’ve been doing our Super Social Media Awards, we’ve never had harder choices to make. So much has changed in the past 1000+ days with the number of supers engaged and the quality of what’s being done.

We’ll honor our winners at the 2015 TweetUp, which we do in partnership with Aquatrols. Everyone is welcome, so join us at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Aquatrols booth #9063 to enjoy actual face-to-face contact with your virtual friends.

Just a couple of notes. First, nominations — dozens of them — came in from you guys as well as partners and previous winners. Many of the very deserving winners from past years were nominated again this year. Our policy is to try to select as many new winners as possible each year to highlight even more great examples that you can follow as you begin or refine your efforts. Previous winners like Darren Davis, Jason Haines and others are still the gold standard, but we wanted to expand the horizons of the program to include other leaders, as well.

We took those nominations and compared notes. We then narrowed that down and chose our recipients. Eventually, I made the final call. There were MANY deserving nominees who didn’t quite fit this year. Keep trying, please!

March will feature an article detailing this year’s winners and what you can learn from them. See you at TweetUp.

Travels with Terry

Bunker liner accessibility

This easily accessible Johns Manville Spunbond Bunker Liner roll (400 feet by 15 ½ feet = 6,200 square feet) is approximately 7 feet off the ground, mounted to a recycled metal container that is used for storing rakes and shovels. This great idea eliminates clutter of the liner sitting on the ground. It is quick and easy to cut off the exact liner length needed. The 17-foot long, 1½-inch diameter galvanized pipe slides through the roll’s 15½-foot long cardboard tubing and onto the metal brackets, which have two different 1¾-inch semicircle settings depending on how large of a diameter each roll is. Each bracket is made of 3-inch by ¼-inch thick angle iron that is 16 inches vertically and 20 inches horizontally, with a 1¼-inch by ¼-inch thick angled metal support strap that is all welded together and then bolted to the storage container. Bungee cords are used to keep the bunker liner from unrolling. It was designed and built in-house and took about one work day (on and off) to cut and assemble all of the scrap parts that were already (except for the pipe) in inventory. Mark Smith is the certified golf course superintendent at The Quarry at La Quinta in La Quinta, Calif.

Nighttime Spraying

The staff at the Noyac Golf Club in Sag Harbor, Long Island, N.Y., likes to continue late afternoon spraying into darkness to avoid golfers during busy morning hours or during the heat of the day. Fully waterproof Hi-Aux LED Light Fixtures, with 8-inch long cords, purchased from Napa (Part #33060C) for $25/each, were installed alongside each spray nozzle. Each light was attached to a TeeJet 1 ¼-inch square stock bracket at $6/each. A 25/32-inchhole is drilled into each bracket for the light fixture with a ¼-inch hole used at the other end to mount it to the spray boom. Sixteen gauge doubt wire (approximately 40 feet total) and shrink tubing connects all of the wires to the one on/off toggle switch. All three spray rigs have been using the LED lights for the past five years without any breakage or replacement lights required. The lights clearly illuminate all of the sprayer’s nozzles so the operator can see if they are operating properly. 25/32-inch ($30) and ¼-inch ($10) drill bits were purchased locally. Brian Goleski, superintendent, and JR. Wilson, equipment manager, devised this great idea.

Fresh Iron: The ultimate equipment replacement guide

Terry Buchen explains how to get the right equipment at the time you need it most.

As a result, long-term cash-flow projections to course and club officials for equipment replacement can be made accurately regardless of whether the equipment is purchased or leased. With thorough documentation procedures in place, a superintendent can accurately determine if each piece of equipment costs too much for repairs or if it’s best to replaced. These programs are worthwhile so that capital and leased operating cost funding is available annually to replace worn-out equipment and to acquire new technology on a regular basis.

In addition, a comprehensive equipment-replacement chart is a helpful guide for projecting when to replace equipment.

Maintenance equipment inventory

Efficient, routine maintenance equipment inventories, updated annually, include extensive line items such as: date of purchase; equipment description; where it will be used; original prices and sales taxes; replacement costs; model number; serial number; model and serial number of all attachments such as engine, transmission, cutting units and verticut reels; original expected life; current expected life; when the warranty expires; equipment shop number; and depreciation (if purchased).

The original expected life and current life expectancy should be updated annually, showing where some equipment may last longer than projected, or that equipment may not last nearly as long as originally projected. Also, the trend to lease equipment that normally does not last as long, such as all mowers, turf vehicles, and bunker rakes, and purchasing longer-lasting equipment, such as tractors, loader/backhoes, dump trucks, and trenchers, has gained in popularity.

To see the full list of the Equipment Replacement Guide, click the image above.

There should be two pieces of motorized equipment, minimum, for each specific area that is being maintained. The equipment includes rough mowers, intermediate rough mowers, fairway mowers, riding bunker rakes and sprayers. This provides one backup piece while servicing and repairs are being done. This helps improve productivity and to get jobs done ahead of golfers. The two motorized equipment minimum rule is also useful in case there are breakdowns during tournaments.

Instead of trading in or selling equipment that normally would be replaced, superintendents will keep, depending on local conditions, the old equipment for other tasks. Old mowing equipment can be used after topdressing greens, collars, tees, fairways and approaches. Likewise, greens mowers can be used to mow tees, collars and approaches.

Five-year equipment replacement program

This program should be updated annually so capital and leasing forecasting and budgeting are thorough and complete.

There are two basic golf industry standards for equipment replacement: to allocate 10 to 15 percent minimum of the total replacement equipment inventory value each year, or approximately 15 or 25 percent of the annual maintenance operating budget. Leasing is more popular with facilities that require their frequently used equipment to be replaced more often, such as walk-behind and riding reel and rotary mowers for all of the maintained areas, turf vehicles, riding bunker rakes and sprayers. When the lease expires, the course has the option of turning the equipment in and acquiring new equipment, or with a one-dollar buyout where the course owns the equipment. The former is more popular because it makes the most sense to keep replacing equipment when it’s worn out and not cost effective to keep repairing it.

There is also an added side benefit to replacing leased or capital equipment, where more modern, state-of-the-art equipment technology is acquired. This replacement program also allows for additional new technology equipment to be acquired that is not being replaced – but added to the inventory so that additional improved agronomic and playing conditioning standards are achieved as dictated by golfer demands.

Leased equipment typically has a separate line item on the maintenance operating budget. And when this occurs, the total operating budget amount can be very deceiving, as it usually appears that this budget is much higher than normal because lease payments are included. Purchased equipment is placed on a separate capital expense budget.

The purchasing of longer-lasting equipment, such as tractors, loader/backhoes, skid-steer loaders and attachments, dump trucks, dump trailers, fairway aerifiers, and fairway topdressers with material handling systems, is more the rule than the exception for courses nationwide. The life expectancy on this equipment is usually longer, which makes purchasing more cost effective. An added side benefit is it is usually depreciated on the course’s financial statements because it is a capital expense.

Terry’s tips

A five-year equipment replacement program — updated annually — will provide accurate budget cost projections of when owned and leased equipment should be replaced.

The maintenance equipment replacement chart, broken down in all three climatic zones, provides guidelines of when equipment should normally be replaced.

With increased golfer demands for improved conditioning standards as seen on televised tournaments and championships, maintenance equipment inventories have significantly expanded with increased annual capital expenditures and lease payments on the maintenance operating budget.

Frequently used maintenance equipment, such as all reel and rotary mowers, turf vehicles, riding bunker rakes, sprayers, etc., is now leased, and longer lasting equipment, such as tractors, loader/backhoes, skid steer loaders, dump trucks, etc., is purchased. The former is now the rule rather than the exception.

With all of today’s sophisticated maintenance equipment to provide a comprehensive preventative maintenance program, repairs and modifications, an equipment manager and assistant mechanic/technician is required for each 18-hole golf course. Having only one equipment manager for 18 holes in today’s world, in most cases, is entirely too much work for one individual

All maintenance equipment should be stored in an enclosed or covered storage area to keep sunlight and moisture from damaging it and shortening its life expectancy.

A photo/video journal is added proof that every piece of equipment was currently in inventory during a loss submitted to an insurance company.

Preventative maintenance, repairs and equipment modification

A solid equipment manager is paramount to not only keep maintenance equipment up and running, but for it to meet its life expectancy.

Maintenance equipment gets more sophisticated each year, with more and more diesel, hybrid and electric variants designed and built by multiple domestic and international manufacturers. The total amount of equipment in the inventory has rapidly expanded over recent years, mostly because of player demands for better conditioning standards. Because of the sophistication and larger amounts of equipment, many 18-hole courses employ two equipment technicians: the equipment manager, who performs repairs, sharpening and equipment modifications; and an assistant mechanic/technician, who performs routine preventative maintenance programs and lapping/sharpening. Only one equipment manager for 18 holes, in most cases, is too much work for an individual.

Maintenance equipment replacement chart

The chart on page 18 has a complete listing of everything an 18-hole golf course and practice areas require to be maintained. Since the equipment usage differs noticeably in different areas of the country, the chart highlights the three climatic zones: the cool-season, transition zone and warm-season climates. The range in years for each climatic zone is a good estimate and projection for when equipment typically should be replaced, especially before it becomes too costly to continue to repair. How long equipment will last is based on frequency of use, climatic conditions, employee’s care when operating the equipment, preventative maintenance programs, whether it’s stored inside or outside in the damaging sunlight and moisture, operating budget equipment maintenance line items, etc.

This chart is based on years when the equipment should normally be replaced instead of hour meter readings, because all maintenance equipment does not normally come equipped with them. Typically one hour equals about 60 miles on average on an automobile, meaning 3,000 hours equals approximately 180,000 auto miles equivalent. Newer equipment models are being installed with hour meters, especially on engines that do not have electric starters.

Typically motorized equipment costs more to maintain between the second and third year of the acquisition – or typically between 3,000-4,000 hours (180,000-240,000 miles equivalent). Monitoring the annual equipment repairs and maintenance costs for each piece of equipment provides insight on when it is more cost effective to replace instead of repair.

Photo/video journal

One final note: To be complete in keeping good, up-to-date efficient records, superintendents must take individual photographs/videos of each respective piece of maintenance equipment as proof that it was in inventory during an insurance company loss. Duplicate digital copies of each photo/video should be kept on a flash drive or CD Rom disc and stored in a safe place, such as in a fireproof file cabinet or even off site.

Terry Buchen, CGCS, MG, is president of Golf Agronomy International and regular GCI columnist.